Flooring



May 16, 1944.

M. H. CARPENTER FLOORING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 20, 1942 INVENTOR.K m. r. w P E R N a R o m a M Y EM n M M FLOORING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR mamaud We 35 ATTORNEYS May 16, 1944. M. H. CARPENTER Filed Jan.20, 1942 Patented May 16, 1944 UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE FLOORINGMiles Harold Carpenter, Severna Park, Md. Application January 20.11942,Serial No. 427,451

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to the construction and installation offioorings, and in particular it relates to the construction andinstallation of floorings in prefabricated and demountable buildings.

The main object of my invention is the pro vision of a flooring ofprefabricated elements, which may be installed and taken up again, asdesired, easily and quickly and without destructive effect on theflooring components.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a flooring comprisinga subflooring struc-- ture, a facing member, and means to secure thefacing to the substructure.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a flooringpanelcomprising a base member and afacing thereon spaced in from atleast one marginal edge of the base member.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a flooring panelwhich comprises a base member and a facing thereon spaced in from atleast one marginal edge of the base member, the projecting portion ofthe base constituting a shelf whereby the panel is secured onto asubstructure.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a flooring composedof a plurality of panels, each of. which has a base portion, and afacing thereon spaced in from the longitudinal marginal edges thereofdefining a shelf on each side of the panel, the panels being disposed inside by side relationshi and secured to a substructure, and means tooverly the abutting shelves flush with and interfitting with the facingsto complete the flooring.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a flooring made up ofprefabricated panel which include facings, a subfloor structure, andmeans to secure the individual panels secured together in side by siderelationship, a subfloor structure. and means to secure the upperflooring to the subfiooring, which means serve" also to secure thepanels together.

Other objects of my invention will be obvious or will be pointed outspecifically in connection with the following description of anillustrative.

embodiment.

In the drawings annexed hereto, forming a panel constructed according toand embodying my invention;

Fig. 4 is an isometric view of a T-bolt used in the assembly of myflooring;

Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively isometric and cross-sectional viewsshowing successive steps in the installation of my new and improvedflooring.

In practicing my invention, I construct a number of unitary panels l0,each of which comprises a base member I2, which may be of plywood orother suitable material, and a facing Id which may be composed offinished flooring hard-wood strips $6, l6, or other suitable flooringmaterial. Strips i6, i6 may extend longitudinally of each panel, andinterfit in tongue-andgroove relationships at H, and they are securedonto the base l2 as by means of nails, screws, glue or other suitablemeans.

Each panel may be four feet wide by eight feet long (margin to margin),or of any other suitable dimensions. My flooring construction, as hereindescribed and illustrated. is part of a plan for the construction ofprefabricated and demountable houses, and in this connection the 4 by 8panel size is preferably standard. In this application. all dimensionsare illustrative, and my invention is to be limited only by my claims.

The facing strips l6, l6 do not. entirely cover the base [2, sideportions of which extend outwardly beyond the flooring facing E6 on eachside thereof, to provide a shelf i3 which extends along the full lengthof the panel and outwardly therefrom, on each side thereof. A pluralityof notches 25, Zil are formed in shelves ii! at spaced distance alongthe length thereof.

In my prefabricated and demountable houses, a sub floor structure isprovided, which may consist of open rectangular frames of relativelyheavy wood beams, as 22, 23 covered over their top by a sheet of plywood2d, or other material. Each frame is four feet wideby eight feet long.and the abutting beams 23. 23 of adjacent subfloor frames aretransversely bolted together, as by bolts 26. These adjacent beams arepreferably grooved longitudinally along their abutting faces. eachgroove being semi-cylindrical, whereby a cylindrical space is providedbetween the two.

A dowel 21 is placed in this space, before the beams are drawn togetherby bolts 26, whereby the beams are accurately positioned and a perfectlylevel supporting structure for the flooring assured. The subfioor framesare also prefab.- ricatedin the 4' x 8' size, and secured together ontothe foundation structure in suitable manner. In this application, I willdescribe my flooring as using this type of subfioor structure althoughit will be plain that my invention may well use other suitable types ofsubfloor structures.

The lengthwise extending bolted together beams 23, 23 are verticallyapertured centrally thereof as at 29, at spaced distances correspondingto the spaced notches on the shelves l8 of panels 16; that is, theabutting sides of beams 23 are each semi-circularly scored so that whenthey are bolted together they define a complete circular openingextending from top to bottom of the bolted-together beams.

As seen in Fig. 6, shelves I8, I8 are notched at 20, 20, the notchesextending inwardly of the shelves, decreasing in extent to formshoulders 30, 30. Shoulders 30, 30 are angled upwardly and then risevertically to the top of the shelf l8 short of the facing I4. T-bolts 32are provided, having an elongated body 34, threaded at the bottom 36thereof, and a cross head 38, the top 48 of which is flat, but theunderside of which is angled at each end, as at 42, to fit smoothly intothe contours of shoulders 36 of the notched recesses 20, 20. The boltbody 34 must be sufficiently long to pass entirely through the subfioorstructure, and the cross head 38 must be of such length as to bereceived within the recessed shoulders 30, 30 of adjacent panelplatforms. The depth of shoulders 30, 3D is preferably sufficient toreceive the bolt cross head entirely therewithin.

In practice, a number of subfloor panels or units are prepared andsecured onto a foundation structure, as 50. One form of foundationstructure well adapted for use in the construction of prefabricated anddemountable buildings is described and claimed in my application SerialNo. 398,374, but any appropriate foundation may be used. Thesubstructure elements are assembled and secured together, as by means ofbolts 26 on the foundation A panel I0 is placed on top of thesubstructure, with the notches 20, aligned with the apertures 29 in thesubfioor beams. |A bolt 32 is then passed through notch 2t and aperture29, and its threaded end 36 projecting below the bottom of the beamstructure is engaged by a nut 44. A second panel I0 is then slid inunder the bolt heads 38 with the notches of the shelves in registry, andwhen the panel shelves proximate each other, the bolt head 38 is drawndown into the recessed shoulders 30, 3D. Bolts 38 thus operate to keythe panels in their proper position relative to the subfioor and to eachother.

In this embodiment of my invention, the facing of my panels is composedof tongue and groove elements. On one side of the panel the facing endswith a tongue element, as 55, and at the other side it ends with agroove element, as 51. Of course, other connections may be employed, thetongue and groove as herein described being illustrative.

A sufiicient number of panels are thus overlaid on the substructure andbolted thereto, leaving the lines of joining uncovered. The facing onone side of the channel thus created presents a grooved aspect and theother side presents a tongue element. The panels are at this point inthe position illustrated in Fig, 6, spaced apart -23 w lin .vrr p 5ft,

ms the facing strips I6, are drop ed into the channels, overlying theadjacent shelves l8, l8, and the panels shifted towards one anotheruntil the tongues 62 and grooves 64 of the insert strips engage thegrooves 51 and tongues 55 respectively of the adjacent panels. Nuts 36are completely tightened and the flooring solidly secured to thesubstructure.

Every room to be floored presents its own problem in dimensions, and thesubfloor structure and the size of the panels l0 are to be determined inrespect of each room. If, for example, the room to be floored is twelvefeet by fourteen feet, three panels may be provided, each about twelvefeet long and four and one-half feet wide. In bolting the panels to thesubstructure, the start may be any place within the room, away from thewalls. After all the panels are in place, the spaces left near the wallsare filled in by filler strips 10, 10,

which may be of the same material as the facing strips I5. Wedge strips12, 12 may be employed to urge the panels towards each other, into closeabutment, to complete the floor from wall to wall 80. After the wedgestrips 12 are driven into the facing, as shown, base boards 82 and floormolding strips 84 may be removably applied about the margins of the roomto overlie and hide the fillers l0 and wedges l2. 3

The flooring as so constructed is complete. All fastenings, whilepermanent. may nevertheless be removed, and the flooring may be taken upand used on different locations without loss of any parts or damagethereto.

As above mentioned, each flooring must be prefabricated to fit itsparticular site. The panels may be standard as to size and shape and themethod of installation is uniform, but each room may call for individualtreatment to accommodate the panels and their method of installation.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A flooring comprising a sub-structure and a removable coveringtherefor, the covering comprising a plurality of butting panels each ofwhich comprises a base'portion and a facing portion fixed thereon, thefacing portion being in from the longitudinal marginal edges of the basethereby defining a laterally outwardly extending shelf along eachlongitudinal marginal edge, openings through the shelves andsub-structure and means passing through said openings to removablysecure the panels to the sub-structure in longitudinal edge abuttingrelation, and means overlying the shelf, interfitting and interlockingwith the facing portions of the adjacent panels and flush therewith tocomplete the facing.

2. A flooring as in claim 1, in which the facing portion of each panelcomprises a plurality of strips extending lengthwise of the panel, eachof which is interfitted and interlocked with the adjacent strips, andthe shelf overlying means comprises a longitudinally extending stripwhich interfits and interlocks with the endmost strips adjacent stripsand permanently secured to, the

base portion of the panel. and the shelf o erlying means comprises astrip of similar size-and shape ,I 4. A flooring comprising asub-structure and a removable covering therefor, the covering comprisinga plurality of panels disposed in edge- 'toedge abutting relationship,each panel con1- prising a base portion and a facing portion fixedthereon, the facing portion being in from at least one longitudinalmarginal edge of the base thereby defining a laterally outwardlyextending shelf along said longitudinal marginal edge, transversenotches through the shelf in from the edge thereof, openings through thesub-structure, and means passing through said notches and openings toremovably secure the panels to the substructure, the panels beinglaterally slidable towards and away from each other, and means overlyingthe shelf, interfitting and interlockin with the facing and flushtherewith to complete the facing of the covering.

5. A flooring as in claim 4 in which the facing comprises a plurality oftongue and groove interfitted strips, and the endmost strip of one sidehas a tongue projection overlying the shelf on that side, the endmoststrip of the opposite side has a groove recess above the shelf, and theshelf overlying means comprises a similar strip having a groove alongone edge to receive the tongue strip of one panel and a tongue along theopposite edge to fit into the groove along the edge of the adjacentpanel to complete the facing of the flooring.

6. A walled room and a flooring therefor comprising a floorsub-structure, a surfacing thereon, and mean to removably secure same insaid relationship, the surfacing comprising a plurality of panelsoverlying the sub-structure, each panel comprising a base portion and afacing portion, the base extending out beyond the surface portion todefine a shelf along each longitudinal marginal edge of the panel,notches in the shelves and openings in the sub-structure, and meanspassing through the notches and openings to removably secure the panelsto the sub-structure, the notches in the shelves extending transverselythrough the same to receive the bolt head therewithin, means overlyingth shelves, interfitting and interlocking with the facings and flushtherewith, to complete the surfacing, the panels being shiftable awayfrom and towards each other, the overlying means being interfitted whilethe panels are shifted away from each other and interlocked upon thepanels being shifted towards each other to complete the panel facing.

MILES HAROLD CARPENTER.

